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Don't Play that Song
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
12 Sep 2018
🖨️ Print Article
this is what we do overseas
Don't Play that Song....

Don’t Sing That Song ‘bout

Bombs bursting in air,

Rocket’s red glare

Gave proof through the bus

40 children were dead.

Don’t Sing That Song

that “supports the troops”

Kicking in doors at 4AM;

Urinating on bodies

of Afghan fighters;

Defecating on

the Koran; Cutting

off ears and fingers—

Sporting them like

macabre trophies…

Don’t Sing That Song of

twilight’s last gleaming;

and perilous flight of

Hellfire Missiles from

Predator Drones—

white boy toys draining

treasure and blood:

Bankrupting us morally

Don’t Sing That Song—

‘bout a warfare state

with money for missiles,

Leaden water; collapsing

bridges; broken down

trains; Tent Cities and

citizens curled up on

cardboard—chanting,

“Spare change—

you can believe in?”

Don’t Sing That Song—

that slave masterpiece—

‘bout broad stripes on

brown backs; bright stars

in scrambled brains—Home

of the brave—gunning

down Black men in the streets

Don’t Sing That Song

Giving comfort to

War House Hitler-lovers

on Capitalist Hill,

White Supreme Court, slave

master statues, and military bases

named for confederate traitors

Don’t Sing That Song

Marvin prosecuted

for its soullessness—

Rene Marie face-

lifted with Every Voice—

as Nobel Drone Ranger

rammed her under the

bus with his Peace Prize—

Don’t Sing That Song

Jimi’s guitar tried

for war crimes at Woodstock!

Our poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished performing artist. Find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

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